Clinical significance of RET and RAS mutations in sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma: a meta-analysis

In this study, we aimed at investigating the prognostic value of RET and RAS mutations – the two most common mutations in sporadic MTCs. A search was conducted in four electronic databases. Relevant data were extracted and pooled into odds ratios (OR), mean differences (MD) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the random-effect model. We used Egger’s regression test and visual of funnel plots to assess the publication bias. From 2581 studies, we included 23 studies with 964 MTCs for meta-analysis. Overall, the presence of RET mutation was associated with an elevated risk for lymph node metastasis (OR = 3.61; 95% CI = 2.33–5.60), distant metastasis (OR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.64–4.94), advanced tumor stage (OR = 3.25; 95% CI = 2.02–5.25), tumor recurrence (OR = 3.01; 95% CI = 1.65–5.48) and patient mortality (OR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.06–5.57). RAS mutation had no significant prognostic value in predicting tumor aggressiveness. To summarize, our results affirmed that RET mutation is a reliable molecular biomarker to identify a group of highly aggressive sporadic MTCs. It can help clinicians better assess patient prognosis and select appropriate treatment decisions.
Source: Endocrine-Related Cancer - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Research Source Type: research